Two things. First, Costco served your first point even better than malls did. Second, because they were part of my culture when I was younger one of the reasons I have coffee at malls was to be there to enjoy all the decorations while I was drinking my coffee. I agree with you on that.
It’s also like another person said too in another post regarding the white people malls and the non-white people malls. Though it’s always a pain to get to, when I’m visiting relatives in Seattle I occasionally will go by Bellevue square. It’s a nice place to have a walk and meet for coffee. But the old malls from my younger days (sea-tsc mall and Southcenter) are not pleasant places for me. Not my kind of culture.
“Costco served your first point even better than malls did.”
Technically, yes; Costco is more efficient in many ways. Emotionally, I looked forward to going to a mall. OTOH, I have to psych myself up for a week before stepping in to a Costco store. (Just shoot me! I hate going to Costco.)
The last time I actually shopped at a mall was in Thousand Oaks, CA, and we left CA in 2010. I never noticed a racial component to that mall, so am surprised to see that it’s mentioned in this thread so often.
I’ve been to a mall twice in Knoxville but it’s a half-hour away, and it wasn’t to shop. The place that changes batteries in my cell phones is there.
In the ‘80s I enjoyed going to a mall in Seattle. I think it was called Southcenter. We’d fly down from Anchorage, DH would go to a football game, and I’d go to the mall.